Re:How much health insurers pay for almost everything is abo...
by vburg on Saturday July 02, 2022 @12:24AM
(#31956217)
1000 to 100k? How about zero to infinity? Hospital refuses to give any price range for a colonoscopy, wouldn't quote a cash price because I had insurance. Insurance can't say if it is covered. Won't know until the claim is submitted. Says it might be fully covered as preventative care, or partially covered, or not covered at all. Might not even go against the out of pocket max. Spent a week on the phone trying to get a straight answer. Final bill 3k.
Re:How much health insurers pay for almost everything is abo...
by Cornelius267 on Saturday July 02, 2022 @01:18PM
(#31960754)
"Its a matter of knowing where to find the place that can treat you." This is fine if you can plan in advance and have the funds to travel, but what if you can't? What if you're in a car accident, or have a heart attack? You can't shop around when your guts are spilling out on the asphalt.
Re:How much health insurers pay for almost everything is abo...
by bjtitus on Friday July 01, 2022 @11:58PM
(#31956095)
> this surgery clinic will treat your appendicitis for less than the average patient's deductible + coinsurance. I'm including the flight + hotel stay in that estimate.
Are there really people flying to avoid overpaying for an appendectomy?
Re:How much health insurers pay for almost everything is abo...
by troutwine on Saturday July 02, 2022 @01:20AM
(#31956483)
Boy, I had to have an appendectomy and I could barely stand. I can’t imagine flying for one, or holding off to get everything arranged. I suppose I may have had less time to plan than is implied here: went to bed fine, woke up in agony.
For example, this surgery clinic will treat your appendicitis for less than the average patient's deductible + coinsurance. I'm including the flight + hotel stay in that estimate.
https://surgerycenterok.com/pricing/appendectomy-laparoscopi...
The problem is how you go about finding this information. Most ASC's and even independent doctors are extremely obtuse precisely to hide this huge liability from you. Hospitals will treat you like you are joking. Most hospital billing staff will prefer to do a cartwheel for you, instead of quoting you a price (insured or not). Or they will give you the super helpful range of 1,000 to...100k. Yes,I'm exaggerating to make the point. Heck, even if 1 out of 3 facilities do give you the estimate you seek, that's still 1 hour of time wasted for every 3 calls (avg call hold+time = 30mins) made.
For this reason, I recommend you go with a facility that is part of https://fmma.org/
Disclaimer: I don't have any relationship with OK Surgery or FMMA. Only a big fan, and also working with my startup to take out insurance out of regular healthcare choices.